For efficient logging activities and analysis, what is considered a best practice?

The practice of only logging and monitoring incoming firewall traffic is centered around the understanding of the critical role that firewalls play in network security. Incoming traffic is often the first line of defense against external threats. By specifically logging this traffic, organizations can identify and analyze potentially malicious attempts to access their systems. This logging provides insights into unauthorized access attempts, which can be crucial for threat detection and incident response.

While it is important to monitor and log various types of traffic for a comprehensive security posture, focusing on incoming traffic allows for more targeted analysis and resource allocation. Organizations can prioritize their efforts on handling incoming threats while balancing the need for system performance and storage management.

In contrast, other choices suggest practices that can lead to inefficiencies or blind spots. For instance, logging everything without regard to relevance can overwhelm storage resources, complicate analysis, and make it challenging to pinpoint actual security incidents. Similarly, focusing solely on outgoing traffic neglects the analysis of incoming threats, leaving a significant gap in defense. Monitoring logs in real-time without any retention means critical historical data would be lost, which is often necessary for understanding trends and responding to incidents that may not present immediate alerts.